GOP: Graduated Tax ‘Cash Grab’ Will Stifle Pandemic Recovery

state capitol
Illinois State Capitol in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Republicans are demanding a vote in the General Assembly on removing from the fall ballot a proposed graduated income tax structure, saying the state’s pandemic-pillaged economy can’t sustain higher taxes.

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin and Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady said Monday that the special session this week in Springfield should consider dumping the plan to alter the state Constitution and discard the current flat-rate income tax.

Right now, it’s up to voters. Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls his proposal a “fair tax.”

Durkin says it’s a “cash grab” that will decimate the economy as it recovers from COVID-19.

Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM